» September 2, 1951: Don Mueller hits two more home runs, giving him five in two days, to tie an ML mark. His 2nd homer, again off Phil Haugstad, comes a minute after he learns he is a new father. Bobby Thomson adds his 25th homer and Jim Hearn beats the Dodgers 11–2. After Mueller's 2nd homer, Haugstad decks Thomson and hits Mays with a pitch, evoking a warning from Al Barlick. Barlick had earlier thumbed Branca and Dick Williams in the 5th inning, Newcombe in the 6th when he objected to a call, and Jackie Robinson and rookie Clem Labine. Dressen then clears his bench to avoid any more thumbings. The Giants move to five games behind Brooklyn. The Dodgers are suspicious of the losses at the Polo Grounds, and later there are revelations about signs being flashed to Giant batters from the CF scoreboard. Did it happen? Sal Yvars later said, "yes," while Mueller remarked, "as for my home runs and the sign stealing, this has been much talked about and I would prefer not to comment." On the Dodgers side, Buzzie Bavasi denied it occurred, but Clyde Walker concluded, "it did happen."
» May 18, 1957: Seconds before the 10:20 p.m. curfew will end the White Sox-Orioles game, the Birds Dick Williams cracks a game-tying homer off Paul LaPalme. The game ends 4–4.
» March 31, 1958: The Indians trade OF Gene Woodling, the versatile Dick Williams, and P Bud Daley to the Orioles for OF Larry Doby and LHP Don Ferrarese.
» August 30, 1958:
The Orioles Dick Williams plays all three OF positions without a single PO or assist in a 7-2 win against Boston.
» May 10, 1960: Joe Ginsberg of the Orioles loses a struggle with Hoyt Wilhelm's knuckler, and ties the record set six days earlier by teammate Gus Triandos with three passed balls in one inning. Dick Williams of the A's belts a grand slam, as the American League record of three on one day in one league is tied for the 2nd time in 16 days. Williams also doubles in a 9-run 5th inning. Kansas City beats Baltimore 10–0.
» December 11, 1962: The Red Sox send P Tracy Stallard, and infielders Pumpsie Green and Al Moran to the Mets for infielder Felix Mantilla. Tomorrow they will ship Carroll Hardy to Houston for Dick Williams.
» June 27, 1963:
A meager crowd of 6,497 fans at Fenway see one of park's great catches. Cleveland OF Al Luplow races full tilt for Dick Williams's drive to right-CF, reaches over the fence, and gloves the ball while flipping over the barrier into the bullpen. Cleveland wins, 6–4.
» September 28, 1966:
The Red Sox appoint Dick Williams as manager.
» August 1, 1969: Dick Williams pulls Carl Yastrzemski from the Boston lineup after one at bat and fines him $500 for "dogging it." Jim Lonborg allows just three hits over eight innings, but the A's rally in the 9th for three runs and beat the Sox, 4–3.
» September 23, 1969: Dick Williams is fired as manager of the Red Sox. Coach Eddie Popowski becomes interim manager.
» October 2, 1970: Billy Martin is announced as the new Tiger manager, replacing Mayo Smith, who was fired a day earlier. The A's Charlie Finley fires manager John McNamara and replaces him with Dick Williams.
» October 16, 1973: The A's win game three of the World Series 3–2 in 11 innings as Bert Campaneris gets the winning RBI. In a private clubhouse meeting, Dick Williams tells A's players he will resign after the Series.
» October 23, 1973: Charlie Finley reveals that he will not release Dick Williams from his contract unless he receives adequate compensation from the team that signs him. Williams had resigned following the World Series victory two days earlier.
» December 18, 1973: The Yankees announce the signing of Dick Williams as manager, precipitating a legal showdown with Charlie Finley. Two days later, American League president Joe Cronin rules that the Yankees cannot sign Williams.
» January 3, 1974: Unable to pry Dick Williams away from Charlie Finley, the Yankees sign Bill Virdon as manager.
» June 27, 1974: The Angels fire manager Bobby Winkles. Whitey Herzog will serve as interim boss for four games before Dick Williams assumes the reins.
» July 23, 1976: The Angels fire manager Dick Williams. Norm Sherry takes over the reins.
» August 5, 1980: Expos manager Dick Williams wins his 1,000th career game 11–5 over the Mets, at Olympic Stadium. He is 3rd in wins among active managers behind Gene Mauch and Earl Weaver. The Expos overcome the offense of Doug Flynn, who ties the modern major-league record with three triples. It was last done in the National League by Ernie Banks, in 1966.
» September 8, 1981:
Citing his "lack of communication" with the players, the Expos fire manager Dick Williams and replace him with Jim Fanning, who has been an executive with the club since it joined the National League in 1969.
» November 18, 1981:
Dick Williams, fired by the Expos on September 7th, is named manager of the Padres. It is the 5th club Williams has managed since taking over the Red Sox in 1967.
» August 12, 1984:
In one of the ugliest brawl-filled games in ML history, the Braves beat the Padres 5–3 in Atlanta. The trouble begins when Atlanta's Pascual Perez hits Alan Wiggins in the back with the first pitch of the game, and escalates as the Padres pitchers retaliate by throwing at Perez all four times he comes to the plate. All in all, the game features two bench-clearing brawls, the 2nd of which includes several fans, and 19 ejections, including both managers and both replacement managers. Padres manager Dick Williams will be suspended for 10 days and fined $10,000, while Braves manager Joe Torre and five players will each receive 3-game suspensions. But the brawl in Atlanta, as Dave Campbell observed, "woke the Padres up out of their doldrums."
» February 24, 1986: High-tension Dick Williams resigns as manager of the Padres. He will be replaced by low-key Steve Boros.
» May 8, 1986: Chuck Cottier is fired as manager of the Mariners. He will be replaced tomorrow by Dick Williams, who resigned as manager of the Padres in February.
» June 6, 1988: Dick Williams is fired as manager of the Mariners and replaced on an interim basis by 1B coach Jimmy Snyder. Seattle was 23-33 under Williams, 6th in the American League West.
BALLPLAYERS | TEAMS | CHRONOLOGY | TODAY | BOOKS | NEWSLETTER | ERRATA | FAQ
